After making controversial statements about Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on a tennis podcast, Australian Nick Kyrgios forfeit his match against Casper Ruud after a mid-court meltdown.

Australian firebrand Nick Kyrgios was disqualified from the Italian Open after an expletive-laden rant on Thursday as defending champion Rafael Nadal swept into the third round along with top seed Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Kyrgios grabbed the headlines when he suffered a spectacular meltdown on Court Three against Norwegian qualifier Casper Ruud.

The controversial 24-year-old, who had marked his presence in Rome by criticising Djokovic and Nadal in an interview on Wednesday, started arguing with the umpire in the third set.

Kyrgios had already been at the centre of controversy during Wednesday's washout when he told the NCR Tennis Podcast that Djokovic had “a sick obsession with wanting to be liked” and that the Serb's post-match celebration was “cringeworthy”.

- Federer cruises ahead -

World number three Roger Federer saved two match
points to advance past Croatian Borna Coric into the quarter-finals
of the Italian Open on Thursday.

Federer came through 2-6, 6-4, 7-6
(9/7) against 13th seed Coric after earlier beating Portugal's Joao
Sousa 6-4, 6-3 in the second round to make up time after rain wiped
out play on Wednesday.

Federer, a four-time finalist in Rome, next
meets either Greek eighth-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or Italian Fabio
Fognini, seeded 10th, for a place in the semi-finals.

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